Calm down, internet. It’s just finger paint.

Yes, I know what it looks like. What can I say? The boy is creative. He comes by it naturally. Never in his life has he seen any of the Star Wars movies, but his cousin has a Darth Maul action figure, so when an opportunity to emulate the tough-looking villain arose… Well, clearly he jumped on it.

Every mama out there can relate to the split second of inner turmoil I experienced at the sight of such a mess. As soon as my logic assured me that this was not blood and my stomach had climbed halfway back down my throat, a silent battle ensued as my inner Mama Who Spends Entirely Too Much Time Cleaning All the Things waged an epic war with my inner Mama Who Encourages Creativity and Thinking Outside the Box. Fortunately for our little Darth Maul, Creative Mama won this round and grabbed her camera to document the somewhat macabre sight. 

I have to give him credit for his zeal. Zai had fully committed himself to this endeavor. This was no ho-hum morning craft routine to him. He carefully mixed the red with the tiny bit of yellow and blue to create just the right color. He could have made a couple of handprints or drawn a picture of a hot air balloon, but that wasn’t enough for him. He wasn’t satisfied with the finger painting status quo. He wanted whole arms, face, head, neck, legs and feet…all in. I have no doubt he would have bathed in the stuff if that were an option.

He saw someone he wanted to resemble, so he dived in and made it happen.

Can we each say the same?

When our days are long and our nights are short and

our children are arguing and our finances are tight and

we are tired and our time and resources are spent

do we put on Love anyway?

Do we dive in to the attributes that Holy Spirit longs to drape over, around and through us at every opportunity? Are we desperate for every inch of us to resemble Jesus – in thought, word and action? Do we thoughtfully and prayerfully share what He leads us to share, being careful not to color His intentions with our own?

Or do we find ourselves pulling the worn comfort of convenience over our heads?

When we look in the mirror and find ourselves face to face with whom we most resemble, is it the One we profess to follow? Or is it someone else entirely?

Sometimes, I think we all get caught up in thinking that love is only ever these big, selfless acts. Grand, sweeping gestures that no one could ever repay. We fail to realize that thinking that way may make it easier for us to excuse ourselves from the running, but it couldn’t be farther from the truth: love turns the small things into big things… and love starts with putting on Truth, every single day.

These are some hard questions, Loves, but they are necessary.

Are we diving into the Word with the One we want to resemble? Are we wrapping ourselves in Truth, every day? Or are we merely shuffling through our routines, checking off our boxes and expecting Him to rub off on us by association?

Choosing to spend time in the Word and in prayer is not easy. Some days, we flat out do not want to do it. The kids are crazy, we have a million and one things to do, our laundry is piling up, the dog ate our favorite shoes, we are just not in the right frame of mind… our excuses could go on for hours. We all know that we need that Truth and time with Him, but the truth is that we are easily distracted by the things of this world.

 

Father, thank You for Your power and majesty. Thank you for listening when we pray. I confess that I am not always “all in” when it comes to loving others. Renew my heart and instill in me a desire to see and love others as You do. You know my heart and human nature. You know the traps that so easily sidetrack me. Holy Spirit, show me when I am falling away and convict me to press in when I start to become distracted. I love you.

As we finish out this week, I am recommitting to rise early and spend time in the Word and in prayer. Will you join me? What are some of the ways that you feel Holy Spirit nudging you to love those in your circles?